


The Gang Goes Camping

by Dragon_Lord



Series: High School AU [5]
Category: Zoo (TV)
Genre: At least in chapter one, Camping, F/M, High School AU, Moody Teenage Mitch, Mostly Fluff, Not me that's for sure, Tent-sharing, Who knows what chapter two will hold, general teenage shenanigans
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-12-27
Updated: 2017-01-07
Packaged: 2018-09-12 12:20:51
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 2,787
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9071365
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Dragon_Lord/pseuds/Dragon_Lord
Summary: Jamie wasn't sure how Jackson and Abe managed to rope everyone into a camping trip two weeks before school started up again, but here they all were in the 'great outdoors' anyway.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Merry Christmas, everybody!  
> If you don't celebrate, merry *insert your holiday here*!

_July - Pre-Senior Year_

Jamie could feel her ponytail falling limp onto her shoulder and flicked it away in annoyance, squinting at the paper in the dirt before her. The diagram still didn’t make any sense. She huffed out a frustrated breath and glanced up at Mitch across from her. He looked just as confused as she was, trying to make sense of the jumble of canvas and metal.

“How is it neither of us has ever put up a tent before?”

Mitch shrugged, not taking his eyes off the project. “It was bound to happen eventually,” he replied. “There’s a first time for everything.”

“Remind me again why we’re even going along with this,” she continued, pushing her hair out of her eyes again.

“Because school starts in two weeks,” he said, “and we all wanted to do something fun together before the summer ended?”

She rolled her eyes. “Yeah, but camping?”

“Hey,” Abraham called from across the clearing. “You two need some help?”

“Yes!” Jamie answered in relief, just as Mitch called, “No!”

Abe barked out a laugh while Jamie glared at her boyfriend. He pointed at her distractedly, rummaging through the pile of materials.

“I have a 3.9 GPA,” he said with little confidence. “I can figure out how to put up a freaking tent.”

She raised her hands in defeat and stood up. “Have at it. I’m gonna unpack.”

It was beautiful out in the woods, much as she didn’t want to admit it. Jackson had chosen the perfect secluded spot, surrounded by tall, whispering pines, and right near the lake. The leaves on the ground crunched under Jamie’s booted feet. She stooped to sort through their gear, feeling like the stepmother in the Parent Trap as she swatted a mosquito from her arm.

“Need some bug spray?” Dariela stood next to her, offering a can with a smirk.

Jamie took it gratefully and misted her exposed skin. “Thanks.”

“No problem.” She tossed her dark braid over one shoulder. “Not really your scene, huh?”

“I’m more of an indoor girl,” Jamie admitted. “I’m just here for the s’mores.”

The other girl laughed. “Well, don’t worry,” she said. “I’m a veteran camper. My parents took me every summer since I was a kid.”

“Would you mind giving Mitch a hand with the tent?” Jamie asked with a small, exasperated smile. “Pretty sure he has no idea what he’s doing, but he doesn’t want me to know that.”

“On it,” Dariela gave her a mock-salute as she headed over.

Jackson and Chloe were already down by the dock and Jamie watched them amusedly. Chloe shrieked with laughter as Jackson picked her up, playfully threatening to throw her in the lake. Jamie almost jumped out of her skin when Mitch suddenly appeared next to her, looking as sullen as ever.

“Give up on the tent?” she asked, trying to contain her grin.

“Dariela usurped me.”

“Come on, guys,” Jackson called from the water’s edge. “While it’s still light out!”

Jamie turned to Mitch with an eager grin before peeling off her tee shirt, revealing her green one-piece underneath. His eyes widened and she giggled, shimmying out of her shorts and leaving the clothes in a pile on the ground. She felt his eyes on her all the way down to the lake and deliberately stretched her arms over her head for just a bit too long before jumping in.

The water was cool and refreshing. Jamie leaned her elbows on the dock to pout at Mitch, who remained on dry land. Behind him, the other two teens were heading down to join them.

“Aren’t you gonna swim?” Jamie asked.

Mitch looked at the water warily. “I think I’ll pass,” he said. He made to sit on the edge of the dock, but as he leaned over, Abe gave him a shove directly into the lake, splashing the others. He came back up, spluttering, glasses crooked on his nose as the others laughed.

“You’re a dick, Kenyatta!” Abe grinned smugly.

Minutes later, Mitch gave up swimming in his clothes and had to climb back onto the dock to disrobe down to his boxers before jumping back in. Jamie tried with all her might not to stare, but it was difficult. His exposed skin was pale as the moon, but something about it, along with the sprinkling of dark hair covering his chest, made her mouth run dry.

The sun was setting an hour later, forcing the teens out of the lake. Jackson and Abe began building a fire up in the clearing while the others toweled off. Jamie didn’t bother changing out of her damp swimsuit, just threw her shorts back on over it. She helped Mitch pick up his sopping wet jeans and shirt from the dock and he sighed.

“Good thing I brought a change of clothes,” he muttered, but she could see the amusement in his eyes.

He looked so adorable standing there, shivering, flecks of water on his glasses, that Jamie couldn’t resist. She stood on her tiptoes and gave him a lingering kiss.

“What was that for?” he asked, eyes half-closed as she pulled away.

She shrugged. “You’re cute.”

Even in the dusky light, Jamie could just see a faint blush trace across his features when he smiled.


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry it took me so long to update, but I was taking a minimester this last week that wore me out. And what with the actual semester starting on Monday... there may not be any new stories for a while. I mean, I have some ideas and I'll be writing in my spare time, but I don't know how much spare time I'll have!

The crackling of the fire was only one voice in the night’s chorus, chiming in with the chirping crickets and rustling wind. Jamie wasn’t lying when she said she wasn’t outdoorsy, but even she recognized how relaxing it all was. Swimming had nearly wiped her out and she leaned heavily on Mitch’s shoulder, pulling his plaid shirt tighter around her middle. Her eyes were drooping but didn’t quite want to fully close just yet.

“We making s’mores?” she mumbled. Mitch’s fingers danced up and down her arm in a comforting gesture and she could feel him chuckle.

“You sure you can stay awake for them?”

She nodded against his neck. “’m always awake for chocolate…”

“I’ve got the marshmallows in my bag,” Jackson chimed in from across the fire, leaning down to rummage through his backpack and glancing up at Abe. “You brought the chocolate and graham crackers, right?”

The dark-skinned boy frowned. “I have the chocolate, but weren’t you supposed to take care of the crackers?”

“Aw, Abe!” Jackson threw his hands up in playful frustration.

“Come on, dude.”

“You had one job!”

Laughing, Abe ducked as Dariela made to sock him in the arm. “Honest mistake, guys, come on!”

Eating s’mores without crackers turned out to be a complete mess. A sticky, chocolatey mess but a delicious one at that. It did the job of waking Jamie up and put everyone in the mood to sing campfire songs before bed, everyone a bit off-key, aside from Chloe, who tried and failed to teach them all a couple of songs in her native French before giving up. She and Jackson were the first to retire to their tents, yawning.

“How ya holding up, Campbell?” Dariela called over moments later. “Camping more fun than you thought?”

“I’ve survived,” Jamie answered solemnly.

The other girl waved away her theatrics with a chuckle. “Hey, I hated camping when I was a kid, but you get used to it after a while.”

“Just wait,” Abe added, chewing on his last piece of chocolate, “Next year’s trip will be even better.”

“No way, man,” Jamie scoffed. “Once is enough, believe me!”

Even Mitch faked offense as the other two groaned in dismay.

“I’m serious!” Jamie laughed. “I’ve had to pee for like an hour now, but I don’t wanna go in the woods cause I might get attacked by a rabid coyote or something.”

“A rabid coyote?” Dariela eyed her skeptically. “Seriously?”

“All right, let’s go.” Mitch got to his feet and held out a hand for Jamie. She took it and stood, frowning.

“Where?”

He gave her a wry smile. “To the bathroom. You pee, I’ll keep watch for vicious wildlife.”

As they disappeared into the trees, Dariela rolled her eyes for the hundredth time and snuggled closer to Abe’s side, warmed by the dying firelight.

\---

There were only two of them in the tent and even so, it was too crowded. Jamie shifted for the hundredth time, trying in vain to find some room that wasn’t taken up by Mitch’s mile-long legs. Coming up empty and cramped, she huffed in frustration.

“Can’t sleep?” he muttered beside her.

“No,” she replied, rolling over to face him. “Sorry, am I keeping you up?”

“Not really tired,” he said, then added, “This tent looked a lot bigger in the store.”

Jamie couldn’t help but giggle, as irritated as she was. “Definitely,” she said. “I think the sign’s exact words were ‘comfortable space for up to three people’.”

“Talk about false advertising.”

Jamie took a moment to listen to the sounds of nature outside the tent. Beautiful earlier that night, the noise was now deafening. There was no way she was falling asleep any time soon, she realized, with a flash of homesickness for her quiet bedroom at home.

_Well, as long as we’re both up…_

She gently poked Mitch’s side. “Thanks for watching my back earlier, by the way, making sure I didn’t get eaten or anything.”

“Hey, what are boyfriends for if not fending off wild animals?”

“Did you actually see any?” She folded her arms and rested them comfortably on his chest. His face was only just visible in the dim moonlight filtering in through the canvas ceiling of the tent.

Mitch toyed with one of her curls as he thought. “There was a shifty-looking raccoon that I was worried I was gonna have to fight off, but other than that, nothing.”

“You’re sweet,” she murmured. He met her gaze steadily, brown eyes ten times warmer without his glasses as a barrier.

“Aw, it was nothin’,” he smirked. “Besides, I’d fight off a hundred raccoons for you.”

Jamie gave a soft chuckle and fisted her hands loosely in his tee shirt. She leaned down to peck him on the lips. “I like you a lot, you know that?”

Another kiss—longer, firmer.

“I had a suspicion,” he said.

The third kiss held. She stretched forward to get more of his taste, curling a hand softly over his jaw. Mitch brought a hand up to tangle in her red curls, angling her head, deepening the kiss. His tongue brushed against hers and Jamie whimpered.

She could feel his heartbeat underneath her, steady, strong.

Before Jamie realized, they had rolled over and she was on her back, his warm weight hovering against her as she squirmed in delight. She was vaguely aware of the very pleasant ache beginning to settle itself in the pit of her stomach, but she didn’t pay it much mind—too focused on the hand stroking her side, inching ever closer to her chest.

Even after a full summer of dating, they’d never gotten quite so carried away. Mitch had always been careful to maintain control and stop before things went too far, even in the most heated of make-out sessions.

But his lips were on her neck now, planting kisses on her skin, and Jamie really didn’t want him to stop this time. Really, it was almost annoying that it took her nearly three years to find out what a good kisser Mitch was.

In an effort to get comfortable, she raised one leg and hooked it around his waist, letting him settle more snugly on top of her. That’s when she felt something pressing into her stomach, obvious through her thin shirt. She froze, felt the blush spreading over her cheeks.

“Hey, Mitch?” she said hesitantly.

“Hmm?”

She stumbled over how to ask the question, embarrassment creeping all through her. “Have you ever… done this before?”

Mitch pulled back a bit, smirking. “Done what?”

God, did she have to spell it out for him? “You know, _this_. Have… have you ever had _sex_?”

(She felt a brief stab of annoyance with herself for having to whisper the word.)

This stopped him and he looked at her almost guiltily, one hand still lingering near her breast. “Yeah, I have. Once.”

The words hit her like a punch to the gut and her hands grew clammy as she struggled to keep her expression neutral. To not let on to the sudden heartache she felt.

Mitch had dated before her, she knew that. In fact, she’d met a few of his girlfriends. It shouldn’t have come as a surprise that he might’ve… with one of them. But it did. And the thought of it, the thought of another girl getting to be with him in that way, touch him, kiss him, made her nauseous.

With all that was going on in her mind at the moment, all Jamie could manage to say in response was, “Oh.”

The pause that followed felt a mile long and Mitch finally broke it by clearing his throat.

“So,” he started awkwardly. “So you haven’t…?”

She shook her head. Then, swallowing hard, she added, “Ben wanted to, a couple of times… but I wasn’t ready.”

Mitch’s eyes grew wide with concern, he gripped her arm a bit tighter. “He didn’t try to—?”

“No!” she said hurriedly. “No, he didn’t force me to do anything! He just got a bit sulky afterwards.”

“Oh,” he said this time, then, “good.”

Another pause, even more awkward. It was then that Mitch decided to lie back in his previous position next to her, the mood having been utterly ruined. Jamie’s thoughts whirled at breakneck speed. She found herself caught between being mad at him, being mad at whoever it was he did it with, and being mad at herself for even asking. Finally, she ended up settling on all of them at once.

“You okay?” Mitch whispered a minute later. Jamie shrugged, shoulders scratching against the thick material of her sleeping bag.

“Sure,” she replied half-heartedly. Next to her, Mitch sighed, ran a hand through his hair.

“Look,” he said, “I’m sorry. I’m sorry if—if I was supposed to wait, but we weren’t dating then!”

His point was valid, but it did nothing to soothe her ache.

“Yeah, but we could’ve been,” she muttered.

“If you’re implying that you’ve wanted me to ask you out for three years,” he continued, growing irritated, “I guess I’m sorry about that, too, but I didn’t think I had a chance and I didn’t want to ruin our friendship if you said no! It means too much to me.” Pausing to catch his breath, he added, “And _you_ could’ve asked _me_ out, ever think of that?”

Jamie swiped at a stray tear that had leaked out, sat up as much as she could in the tiny space. Outside, the fire was long extinguished. Abe and Dariela must’ve gone to sleep.

She still couldn’t look at Mitch, but stared determinedly at her sleeping bag instead.

“I know,” she finally said. “I know, this is stupid and you’re right, you’re totally right, we weren’t dating.” She crossed her arms over her stomach, curling in on herself. “You had every right to… do whatever you wanted, with whoever, but—”

“But what?” Mitch prompted softly.

“I just, I wanted you to be my first,” she whispered, so quiet now that Mitch had to lean forward in order to hear, “and I wanted to be your first, too.”

“I’m sorry,” he repeated, more genuinely. “I really am so sorry. I just—I dunno, I assumed you knew.” He sighed. “Look, I’ll sleep outside tonight. You can have the tent.”

As he made to leave, Jamie shook her head vigorously and grasped his arm to stop him.

“No! No, you don’t have to do that,” she said. “I’m fine, really. It’s okay.”

Mitch didn’t look convinced. “Are you sure?”

She nodded, with a smile that didn’t quite reach her eyes and lasted a bit too long. But he stayed, settling back down in the cramped tent space. After a second, Jamie joined him, pressed against him despite the tension still present.

The seconds ticked by and neither of them said anything. Eventually, Jamie cracked a small smile.

“Did you really want to ask me out for three years?”

Mitch chuckled, relief obviously pouring over him. “Oh man, you don’t even wanna know the embarrassing extent of my pining.”

“Tell me anyway.”

The tension was broken. As Mitch dramatically recounted all the nights he spent bemoaning his apparently unrequited affections, Jamie found herself relaxing once again. She was blissfully asleep within minutes.

Mitch lay awake, watching her with a soft smile. He pressed a gentle kiss to her forehead before closing his eyes.

“Goodnight, Jamie.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Please review and let me know what you think!

**Author's Note:**

> Chapter two (featuring the actual tent-sharing) is in the works!
> 
> Please review and let me know how I did!


End file.
